***THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION'S (NOAA) ACQUISITION & GRANTS OFFICE, EASTERN ACQUISITION DIVISION-NORFOLK, NATIONAL OCEAN SERVICE (NOS) CENTER FOR OPERATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PRODUCTS AND SERVICES (CO-OPS) INTENDS TO NEGOTIATE AND AWARD A PURCHASE ORDER, ON A SOLE SOURCE BASIS, UNDER AUTHORITY OF RFO FAR 6.103-1, WITH FREOOCEANS PTY LTD OUT OF AUSTRALIA FOR SHARKBUOY TIDE BUOYS AND MOORINGS. NO SET ASIDE IS TO BE USED FOR THIS SOLE SOURCE REQUIREMENT. THE ASSOCIATED NAICS CODE IS 334511. ***THE SOLE SOURCE DETERMINATION IS BASED ON NOAA'S REQUIREMENT THAT FREOOCEANS IS THE MANUFACTURER AND SOLE PROVIDER OF SHARKBUOY PRODUCTS. FREOOCEANS DOES NOT HAVE ANY AUTHORIZED PARTNERS OR RESELLERS. CO-OPS WILL ACQUIRE TWO (2) SHARKBUOY GNSS-BASED TIDE BUOYS MANUFACTURED BY FREOOCEANS, AS A PROTOTYPE SYSTEM TO SUPPORT CRITICAL TIDAL DATA COLLECTION NEEDS. THIS ACQUISITION IS INTENDED TO ENHANCE NOAA'S CAPABILITIES FOR COASTAL SURVEYING, CHARTING UPDATES, AND SUPPORT FOR PORTSⓇ PARTNERS. THE SHARKBUOY IS A STATE-OF-THE-ART BUOY SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED FOR GNSS TIDE MEASUREMENTS UNDER HARSH ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS. THIS SYSTEM ADDRESSES THE CRITICAL NEED FOR ACCURATE AND RELIABLE GNSS TIDE DATA COLLECTION IN COASTAL AND OFFSHORE ENVIRONMENTS. NOAA REQUIRES AN EASILY DEPLOYABLE, COST-EFFECTIVE, AND DURABLE TIDE BUOY SYSTEM TO FILL CURRENT OPERATIONAL GAPS AND MEET THE DEMANDS OF COASTAL OBSERVATIONS AND CHARTING PROGRAMS. THE SHARKBUOY'S UNIQUE FEATURES AND SPECIFICATIONS MAKE IT THE OPTIMAL CHOICE FOR NOAA'S OPERATIONAL NEEDS. EXTENSIVE MARKET RESEARCH CONDUCTED BY CO-OPS HAS SHOWN THAT THE SHARKBUOY IS THE ONLY SYSTEM CURRENTLY AVAILABLE THAT MEETS NOAA'S SPECIFIC OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR GNSS TIDE MEASUREMENTS. OTHER SYSTEMS EVALUATED LACK THE COMBINATION OF AFFORDABILITY, RUGGED CONSTRUCTION, AND INTEGRATED GNSS CAPABILITIES NECESSARY FOR NOAA'S COASTAL SURVEYING AND PORTSⓇ APPLICATIONS. FIELD EXPERIENCE AND FEEDBACK FROM METOCEAN SPECIALISTS FURTHER UNDERSCORE THE SHARKBUOY'S UNIQUE SUITABILITY FOR THE INTENDED APPLICATION. THE SHARKBUOY WILL SUPPORT ONGOING TESTING AND EVALUATION OF GNSS-BASED TIDE MEASUREMENT SYSTEMS. IT WILL BE INTEGRATED INTO COOPS' OPERATIONAL FRAMEWORK TO ENHANCE COASTAL AND CHARTING SURVEYS AND PROVIDE CRITICAL DATA FOR SAFE AND EFFICIENT MARINE NAVIGATION, THE PROTECTION OF INFRASTRUCTURE ALONG THE COAST, AND NOAA'S FORECAST MODELS. DATA COLLECTED FROM THE SHARKBUOY WILL HELP IMPROVE NOAA'S ABILITY TO DELIVER ACCURATE, RELIABLE, AND TIMELY TIDE AND WATER LEVEL DATA TO A WIDE RANGE OF USERS. THE SELECTED SHARKBUOY GNSS TIDE BUOY, MANUFACTURED BY FREOOCEANS, IS THE ONLY KNOWN SYSTEM AVAILABLE THAT MEETS NOAA'S OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR ACCURATE, RELIABLE, AND LOW-MAINTENANCE GNSS TIDE MEASUREMENTS. THIS DETERMINATION IS BASED ON EXTENSIVE CO-OPS MARKET RESEARCH, WHICH REVEALED NO OTHER MANUFACTURERS OFFER A COMPARABLE BUOY SYSTEM THAT COMBINES THE UNIQUE FEATURES OF THE SHARKBUOY WITH THE ASTERX-M3 FG REC…